By Jeffrey Moyo HARARE (IDN) –The African Union (AU) Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waiver specific Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) obligations related to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 for a defined period. Together with India, South Africa has proposed a TRIPS waiver in […]
Biden Administration Has an Opportunity to Emerge as A Reliable Partner with African Countries
Viewpoint by Daniel Haile* COLLEGE STATION, Texas | USA (IDN) – The lack of engagement with African countries economically, politically, and militarily could haunt the United States in the coming decades. Washington needs to forget the trauma of the infamous “Black Hawk Down” incident in Somalia and draft a new policy for mutually beneficial cooperation […]
Tributes Pour in for South Africa’s Musical Genius Dr Khumalo
By Jeffrey Moyo HARARE (IDN) – President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to Jazz and Opera Musician, Dr Sibongile Khumalo, for advocating the rights of performing arts, women, as well as human rights. Khumalo passed away on January 28, at the age of 63. She was an esteemed member of the Order of Ikhamanga, a […]
Donations for International Seabed Authority to Support Programmes in the Developing States
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Three countries – Norway, France and Mexico – have reaffirmed their commitment to support, through three separate grants, the implementation by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) of capacity development programmes and activities targeted at developing States members of ISA and to improve their integrated participation in the work […]
UN Treaty Paves the Way for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The writer is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) – The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22 prompted many comments from different quarters on the importance and […]
Russia Blames U.S. for Youth Protests
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) – While Russia is currently investigating reasons behind the unsanctioned January 23 mass protest that took place in central Moscow and many other regions including the Far East, it has allegedly accused the United States of meddling in its domestic affairs. According to human rights organisations, over 3,600 people […]
Mixed Feelings in Kenya’s Pumwani Slums as Schools Open
By Francis Kinyua* NAIROBI (IDN) – After being closed for nine months, schools in Kenya reopened to start a new term and resume the school year that was disrupted in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the morning of January 4, the streets were swarmed with elated children wearing colourful uniforms marching […]
US and Russia Should Agree to a New “Reset”
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – There is a dangerous element in President Joe Biden’s foreign policy. It comes from his deeply embedded dislike of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. During the campaign, he even called Putin a thug, which was not a very sensible thing to do if you are hoping to […]
South African Nuclear Energy Chief Pleads for Energy-Mix
Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) – The power industry in South Africa is faced with huge challenges. Knox Msebenzi, Managing Director of the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA), discusses the impact of challenges on the country’s economy and a way out of the power generation difficulties in South Africa. The Nuclear […]
Court Finds Israeli Tycoon Guilty of Bribing Guinean Officials
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The gavel came down on January 22 on billionaire Israeli-French tycoon Beny Steinmetz who, a criminal court in Geneva ruled, bribed government officials in Guinea, West Africa, to enrich himself and his mining company with valuable assets of the African country. The ruling caps a […]